The McKinney-Vento Act and Children and Youth ... - State of Michigan

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ii The McKinney-Vento Act and Children and Youth Awaiting Foster Care Placement
Executive Summary “ Education was one of the few stabilities that I had in my life. My hope would be that a family would fill that role, but for me, it was education. That was the greatest gift. Everything else was taken away from me, but education wasn’t. Even though it was a battle and a roller coaster, it was a sense of normalcy for me. It made the difference... For foster youth, who lose their culture, sense of self, and identity, education is their ticket to success. It’s one of the few things no one can take away from them.” — Lupe Tovar 1 A good education lays the foundation for stability and prosperity in adulthood. It provides young people with the intellectual and emotional tools they need to grow and succeed. Yet for youth experiencing homelessness and those in out-of-home care, 2 a good education is all too elusive. These youth suffer from extreme instability in their home lives. Children and youth experiencing homelessness move constantly in their struggle to meet their most basic needs, such as shelter, food, health care, physical safety, economic stability, healthy surroundings, clothing, and transportation. Many face these obstacles alone, as abuse and neglect in their families have forced them out of their homes. Youth in out-of-home care must cope with the stress and trauma of abuse and neglect and subsequent profound disruptions in their family lives, often while in the care of total strangers. Like their peers who are homeless, they too often face high mobility. A lack of available, appropriate resource families and living placements, poor selection or supervision of placements, failed reunification efforts, crises in placements, and changes in the permanency plan for the child, among many other possible factors, contribute to the reality that youth face an average of one to two placement changes per year while in out-of-home placement, in addition to their initial move upon entering care. 3 Due to their mobility, youth in care and those experiencing homelessness also confront profound instability in their school placements. For example, 28% of homeless children go to three or more schools in a single year. 4 A study in Washington State found that twice as many youth in foster care changed schools as youth not in care. 5 Such school mobility is a formidable barrier for these youth to obtaining a good education. Several studies have shown the devastating effects of school mobility on a child’s academic achievement. Strategies for Improving Educational Outcomes through School Stability 1
Page 1 and 2: BUILDING FUTURES THROUGH EDUCATION
Page 3: Table of Contents Executive Summary
Page 7 and 8: meeting the child’s unique needs,
Page 9 and 10: Treat youth in out-ofhome care with
Page 11 and 12: Educational Challenges of Homelessn
Page 13 and 14: This residential instability too of
Page 15 and 16: • As many as three-quarters of ol
Page 17 and 18: Overview of the McKinney-Vento Act
Page 19 and 20: (iii) children and youths who are l
Page 21 and 22: From Law into Practice: Strategies
Page 23 and 24: Public Schools, it took three years
Page 25 and 26: • Create an interagency task forc
Page 27 and 28: ENSURING REGULAR INTERAGENCY CONTAC
Page 29 and 30: and roundtable discussions with sch
Page 31 and 32: stakeholders to the table, such as
Page 33 and 34: Massachusetts • “Temporary, tra
Page 35 and 36: To summarize from narrower to broad
Page 37 and 38: for the duration of the school year
Page 39 and 40: they will be better able to manage
Page 41 and 42: 4. Ensure that education and child
Page 43 and 44: Whether they function as employees
Page 45 and 46: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENROLLING TH
Page 47 and 48: WHO ARRANGES TRANSPORTATION? The lo
Page 49 and 50: • Immediate access to free school
Page 51 and 52: The program manager is now working
Page 53 and 54: circumstances will exchanged inform
Page 55 and 56:
“ I had an amazing caseworker fro
Page 57 and 58:
From Practice into Law: Policy Reco
Page 59 and 60:
2. Amend federal and state child we
Page 61 and 62:
6. Implement procedures for schools
Page 63 and 64:
Conclusion As the efforts of jurisd
Page 65 and 66:
References Advocates for Children o
Page 67 and 68:
Robertson, M., & Toro, P. (1999). H
Page 69 and 70:
APPENDIX List of Interviewees Autho
Page 71 and 72:
Endnotes 1 Personal communication,
Page 73 and 74:
26 Burley, M., & Halpern, M. (2001)
Page 76:
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The McKinney-Vento Act and Children and Youth ... - State of Michigan

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